Sep 20 2008
Tooler Man
I’ve become quite the “Tool man” in my early retirement.
I am always on the lookout for new hand tools to augment my toolbox or replace stuff that is really old or outdated. I have found that most hand tools never wear out. I don’t know if that is because, for the most part, they don’t get much use, or if hand tools are really manufactured to “last a lifetime” as many come with that “lifetime” guarantee. It is pretty hard to destroy something made out of steel.
So far I have avoided buying tools at garage sales and second hand stores. I have about fifty screwdrivers...a lot of them are the same size, and with an assortment in each tool bag, I still have a lot left over. I keep tool bags in the pickup, in the van, in the motor home, in the garage, in the house. Yes, I know…overkill.
Recently my wife’s stepfather passed away and he was a “hoarder” and a handyman, so….I picked up a couple of tool boxes full of stuff from his garage. Lots of wrenches…to match my screwdriver collection.
The other day I saw a couple of new things: 
a chisel that was also a flat rasp on one side and a curved rasp on the other side. (click on all images to open larger photos)
I also liked the little hand-held saw that came with three interchangeable blades: wood, hack-saw, and a flat blade (for cutting something off smooth to a flat surface).
I just had to add these to my toolbox.
I also picked up a thirteen-piece spade bit collection. I never seem to have the correct size blade…and now I have every size in sixteenths of an inch.
And finally, here is a photo of a tool that city-folks rarely have: it is a draw knife. We folks here in the mountains use it to remove bark from a log. I never had one until my son wanted me to help him build a baby crib out of logs. That is another story: it still is under construction.
Good God, if we really ever go to the metric system I will need a new–everything!
